Tropic Shale
| Tropic Shale | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: Cenomanian to Turonian | |
Tropic Shale at its type location at Tropic, Utah | |
| Type | Geological formation |
| Unit of | Kaiparowits Plateau |
| Underlies | Straight Cliffs Formation |
| Overlies | Dakota Formation |
| Thickness | Maximum 1,450 feet (440 m), average 600 feet (180 m) |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Shale |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 37°37′44″N 112°04′34″W / 37.629°N 112.076°W |
| Region | Utah |
| Country | United States |
| Type section | |
| Named for | Exposures near Tropic, Garfield County, Utah |
| Named by | Gregory and Moore, 1931 |
The Tropic Shale is a Mesozoic geologic formation. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation, including Nothronychus graffami. The Tropic Shale is a stratigraphic unit of the Kaiparowits Plateau of south central Utah. The Tropic Shale was first named in 1931 after the town of Tropic where the Type section is located. The Tropic Shale outcrops in Kane and Garfield counties, with large sections of exposure found in the Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument.